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How the Linguistic Styles of Donald Trump and Joe Biden Reflect Different Forms of Power
Körner, Robert; Overbeck, Jennifer R.; Körner, Erik; u. a. (2022): How the Linguistic Styles of Donald Trump and Joe Biden Reflect Different Forms of Power, in: Journal of Language and Social Psychology, Thousand Oaks, Kalifornien, USA: Sage Publications, Jg. 41, Nr. 6, S. 631–658, doi: 10.1177/0261927X221085309.
Faculty/Chair:
Author:
Title of the Journal:
Journal of Language and Social Psychology
ISSN:
1552-6526
0261-927X
Publisher Information:
Year of publication:
2022
Volume:
41
Issue:
6
Pages:
Language:
English
Abstract:
Can theories of power be used to explain differences in the linguistic styles of Donald Trump and Joe Biden? We argue that the two candidates possess and use different forms of power—and that this is associated with typical language patterns. Based on their personal history, news reports, and empirical studies, we expect that Trump’s approach to power is characterized by coercive power forms and Biden’s by collaborative power forms. Using several LIWC categories and the moral foundations dictionary, we analyzed over 500 speeches and 15,000 tweets made during the 2020 election battle. Biden’s speeches can be described as analytical and frequently relating to moral values, whereas Trump’s speeches were characterized by a positive emotional tone. In tweets, Biden used more social words and words related to virtue, honesty, and achievement than Trump did. Trump’s coercive power and Biden’s collaborative power were more observable in tweets than speeches, which may reflect the fact that tweets are more spontaneous than speeches.
GND Keywords: ; ; ; ;
Persönlichkeitspsychologie
Linguistik
Sprachstil
Dominanz
Macht
Keywords: ; ; ; ; ;
power
dominance
prestige
LIWC
Trump
Biden
DDC Classification:
RVK Classification:
Peer Reviewed:
Yes:
International Distribution:
Yes:
Type:
Article
Activation date:
April 14, 2022
Project(s):
Versioning
Question on publication
Permalink
https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/53788